Gas manufacture.



No. 873,250, P ATBNTBD DBC. 1o, 1907.

1 .11. I. LEA.l

GAS MANUPAGTURB. APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, 1905.

HENRY I. LEA, or PITTSBUEG, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAS MANUFACTURE.

v No. 873,250.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1907. v

Appllcationiiled July 24. 1905. Serial No. 270.912.

To all whom it may'concem;

Be it known that I, I-IENRY I. IJEA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gas Manufacture, of which the following is a specification. y This invention relates to the manufacture of gas and more particularly to a rocess by which a gas of la character suitab eforgeneral distribution throughout cities may be produced at lower cost per unit of heat than present methods allow.

At present the manufactured gas: supplied to cities is made from one or more of the following processesiretort coal gas works, byproduct coke ovens, carbureted water gas plants, (which include crude oil water g-as plantS), acetylene gas plants and plants distributing air laden with vapor. from etroleum distillate, such as gasole'ne. Whi e each of these processes may be made to yield-a gas or vapor of satisfactory thermal value for many requirements, thevcost of manufacture (because of thermal losses and high cost of raw material),'is such as to very greatly restrict the application of these gases to heating and other industrial requirements. On the other hand, producer gas, as such, is manufactured although I expressly do not limit myself to at an exceptionally low cost per unit of heat, but its bulk is such as to render prohibitive its distribution for city supply. Furthermore, there are many industrial uses for gas which require higher flametemperature than producer gas alone will develop.

An object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a process for the manufacture of gas of higher thermal value'per cubic footithan ordinary producer gas, yet having a lower cost per B. T. U. than any of the gases now manufactured for city supply.

The single sheet of drawing accompanying this application illustrates one style lof apparatus in which may be performed the successive steps comprising the process of gas manufacture herein set forth.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus.v

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of Fig. 1.

For the sake of clearness; a brief description ofthe details of the apparatus illustrated will be given in connection with the successive steps embodied in my invention,

the specific arrangement or construction illustrate-d. I

In a gas generating chamber 3 the producer gas forming the basis of this process is manufactured. This generating chamber or producer proper may be providedwith a suit'- able fuel feeding device 4. The design-of this device may be such as to allow of either hand -or power operation either intermittently or continuously. `The lower edge of the shell of this generating chamber dips into a water seal 6 through which the ashes resulting from the combustionof fuel in chamber 3 maybe removed'iwithout affecting the continuous manufacture of producer gas.

The generating chamber 3 may be provided With blast pipe 7 and with revolving table 5, or. with other suitable device allowing of the admission of blast i to the fuel bed through a layer of ash and providing for the support ofthe fuel bed. Connected with the blast pipe 7 may bea steam-jet-blower 8 of the commonly known injector type, or any other arrangement for admitting to blast pipe or twyer 7 an admixture of steam and air capable of adjustment, so that the gas leaving the fuel bed may have the desired characteristics, even though the nature of the fuel be changed. The air supplied to this blower may or may not be preheated, although with the arrangement here shown a slight advantage will obtain -throughthe preheating of the air supplied to blower. In the style of apparatus vhere shown, a blower 8 receives its Steam through pipe 9 from the steam space of boiler 24, the steam entering the blower being controlled manually by a valve in pipe 9. If it were desired to make gas at varying rates with this apparatus to meet variable conditions of demand, a supply of steam through pipe 9 and of air through pipe l0 would be controlled automatically, the respective vol-- umes being determined by the gas pressure at the outlet of the apparatus. v

The gas outlet 11 from chamber 3 connects with a checker-brick chamber 12 which is provided with a spraying device 13 connectedy to a supply of oil or tar, or other carbureting liquid and to the steam pipe 9 bythe valved pipe 14. This chamber 12 is made like the carbureter of an ordinary Lowe water gas 'apparatus and isprovided with a valved air provided with a valved air vsupply pipe 18 also connected with air ipe 10. The checker brick chamber 17 is divied into two parts by a yervis vto

, tical heat-resisting partition 19 'and is pro-i vided with a valved air suppl y 20 also connected with the air pipe 10. ittaehed to the 'l bottom of the shell of chamber 17 and on. the

l .5 gas outlet side is a gas passage leading to stack 43, which is rovided with valve 44 which is to conduct t e gases from the' checker brick chamber to the atmosphere when -i'irst start. ing this apparatus in-operation.

The air pipe 10 is connected to a blower 21, which is operated by power from any suitable source such as a pulley 22. This blower 21 obtains its air from the atmosphere, or as here shown, from the annulus between the jacket and the shell of the washing or cooling chamber 35, in whichc'ase the air will have absorbed some ofthe heat radiated from the shell 35, this'heat then being returned tothe fuel bed through the blast pipe `7, and to the carbureting chambers thronghpipes4 15, 18 v Gr.20.`

At the bottom of chamber 17 and opposite the gasinlet 16 is a gas outlet 23 leading to dust chamber' 26 formed by shell 24. This shell also forms part of tubular boiler 25, mounted over the chamber 26, the lower portion of which is provided with a fuel grate 27, which may be dumped intoa pipe leading to a Water bottom 28. The tubes of the boiler 25 lead the gases from chamber 26 to cham-iA ber 29 from which the gases leave through passage 30 and valve 34 to the cooling cham-- ber or through valve 32 and pipe 31 to the atmosphere. The gas inlet 23 to chamber` 26 is provided with valve 33. The gas passage 30 connects chamber 29 with the washing and cooling chamber 35, which is .pro vided with cold water sprays 36 connected With city or other suitable sup ly. From this same sup-y ply the water for oiler 24 may be obtained. The chamber 35 is provided with a hanging baille plate, causing the gas to travel from inlet passage 30 throu h the sprays to the bottom of chamber 35 t en through the remaining sprays to the top of the chamber 35 Where outlet passage 37 connects with the combined scrubber and drier 38. The chamber 35 isA provided with a jacket through which the air entering blower 2-1 is drawn as previously eX- plained. The scrubber 38 is rovided with a chamber 39 which may be i'il ed with coke or other suitable gas scrubbing material and a drying chamber 40 iilled with eXcelsior or other suitable drying material. These two chambers are connected by a washing chamber 41, which collects the water coming from the water sprays in the scrubbing chamber. From chamber 41 this water' overflows through a seal pot to the sewer, or other drain'system. The gas leaving chamber 39 bubbles through the Water in chamber 41 before entering chamber 40. The water supply to the sprays in chamber 39 may come from the same source as that for the spraysin chamber 35. Chamber 40 is provided with a `apparatus 'for the removal fof surpluscompounds if this be necessary, or to a gas holder,

'or directlyto the distributing system.

The operation of the apparatus is as fol lows: The boiler 24 having been filled with Water t0 a point above the upper tube sheet, a i'ire is started on the grate 27 in chamber 26, the valves33 and 34 now being closed and valve 32 opened. The air required for co1nbustion of fuel on this grate enters through a door below the rate, (this door not shown), and the fuel, (w ich would be wood, coal or coke), is supplied to the grate through a door above the grate and below the boiler tubes 25. A lire having been startedand this last mentioned door having been closed, the products 'of combustion pass through the tubes of boiler 24, Vthrough the chamber 29,'

' now thrown into commission and airis drawn through the holes in the bottom ofI the jacket surrounding cooling chamber 35 and then into the blower, and out of the blower into pipe 10 to the steam-jet-blower 8. lirom blower 8 a mixture of steam and air passes through twyer 7 into and through the fuel bed which has previously been provided with a layer of ash on the table 5V extending above the twyer 7 and by having wood, old waste, etc., followed by a little coke and sof t coal placed on this ash bed. The ashes and this material for starting the lire may bc in troduced through a door in the shell of the producer just above the twyer, or through ics the feeding device 4, or through the poke holes arranged around this feeding device in the head ofthe roducer shell, (neither this door nor the p re holes are shown). The poke holes in the top of the producer shell are now all left open and this old waste, etc. f

is ignited 'by means of a' lighted torch introduced .through last mentioned door, which is then bricked up and closed. The door in the producer shell below the ash bed is o en to allow of natural draft through the as ibed and through the small fire bed up throu h n through the fuel bed and out through the oke holes in the top of producer shell". The A e on grate 27 is in the meantime maintained to provide the steam required for the blower 8 until the fuel bed in chamber 3 is of suHicient depth to alloW of a relatively strong blast being applied.' When this condition has been developed in the fuel bed, the poke holes in the top of producer shell are closed.

'Valve 44 in Waste stack 43 is o ened. Now,

Anow admitted t'o chamber 12 by opening valve 1 5, and to chamber 17 by opening valves 18 and .20. This admission of air in proper quantities will consume the roducer gas coming over lthe fuel bed to sucl extent as may be desired, the products of combustion and remaining unburned gases, if any, all escaping through the Waste stack 43 to the atmosphere until. the fuel bed has been brought up to its normal Working condition -and until the checker-brick chambers have i fuel bed on the grate..

attained the temperature at which it is vdesired to operate. Having noW attained the temperature desired throughout the iirst three portions of the ap aratus and having 'still'a satisfactory steam ead'in the boiler 24l the valve 32 inv stack 31 'is closed, thereby preventing' the escape of the roducts of combustion-coming up from the `re on grate 27. The door through which air Was supplied below the, grate for the maintenance of.

this grate fire is now closed and Whatever oxygen is noW left Within the shell is very rapidly combined with the carbon in the The grate 27 is now tipped into a vertical position by means of a crank connected with its bearing shaft, Which crank is loc-ated outside of the shell, and the fuel is dropped into vthe Water -bottom 28. There now remains in the chamber 26 and the chamber 29 and within the boiler, tubes V25 practically no oxygen, and, therefore, an explosion on the admission of gas from chamber 17 is practically impossible. At the Worst this explosion Would be very slight and vW'ould be amply cared for bythe water seal 28. Valve 44 in waste stack 43 is, therefore, now closed, While valves 33 ,and 34 are opened. The producer gas and the products of combustion now leaving chamber 17 pass into chamber 26 through the boiler tubes 25, through chamber 29, through passage 30 and valve 34 into the. 'spraying or cooling chamber. 35 to the bottom of this chamber, then up `to passage 37 into scrubhing chamber 39', then through Washer 41, then through drying chamber 40 to gas outlet 42, from Which, as. before explained,

the gases would go to a paratus for the removal of sulfur compoun s, or to a gas-holder,

vor to the distribution system direct. .The

gas now leaving outlet 42 is, of course, very poor, containing excessive quantities of C02. 70

The sprays 36 in chamber and the sprays in the top of chamber 39 are now placed in operation. All the dust and vaporscarried forward by the gases from passage 3() are now removed in chambers 35 and 38. gases on leaving chamber 17 through passage 23 contain considerable sensible. heat, which is largely given up to the water in boiler 24 on the passage of the gases through. ltubes 25. In this Way such quantities of `steam are maintained as may be required for the operation of steam-.j et-blow er 8 and no other steam supply need be maintained, unless local conditions render it. advisable. The h'eat required for the maintenance of proper temperatures throughout the checker-brick and for raising of steam 4vvi'll'be supplied by the sensible heat of the gas coming through passage 11 and the heat of combustion of a small portion of this gas, which willpbe e'llected by 90 the admission lof air, as before explained, through valves 15,- 18 and 20, but in much smaller quantities than required inifi rst starting the apparatus. New, tobring'up the thermal value of the gas leaving the apparatus at l,outlet 42, a hydro-carbon liquid, (either crude oil, or some distillate ol crude `oil,- or some form of tar,-'or distillate oi' tar, or

other suitable hydro-carbon liquid), is admitted 4tl'irough sprays 13 into chamber 1.2, 100' this enrie'hcr having been supplied through. y

the pipe marked ()il, which is connected to a suitable pump which delivers the enriching material under a constant head to the sprays 13. mitted to sprays 13 will be determined by ad'- justing a valve on theoil line. lf .it be desired to use no pump, the oil line would be led to`an injector into which steam. would be admitted through valve 14, and the steam on passing through Athis injector wouldentrain the oil and spray it in the chamber 12 in the form of a mist; The pump system is preferable, but the injeetorsystem is here shown for simplicity. The hydro-carbon mist leavv ing the sprays 13 now mixes inechanicaily with the producer gases coming through passage 11, whichgases are at a high temperature and with these gases passes around and over the highly heated checker-brick in the 12'0 chambers 12 and 17, in which passage Ythe hydro-carbon vapors are gasi'led and i-,racked up into permanent gases. These hydro-carbon .gases being now in imately mixed'with the producer gas and with the products of combustion developed by the admission of secondary air in such quantities as may be required for the maintenance of proper temperatures in the checker-brick, will now pass through the boiler, thereby giving up a large 1430 The volume of this enricherail-' 105 portion ctx-their .sensible heat for the maintenance of steam, then through the spray chamber 35, `where the gases Will be cooledv and freed from a large portion of such vapors '5, and dust as may be carried forward, then' to .scrubber 3 9 Where the remaining vapors will be condensed, then to the Washer 41 where the remainin dust' particles will be removed, then to the e amber 40 whei'e practically all of Vthe water vapor will. be collected and droppedback into the washer 41, then through outlet 42.'. Now, having this apparatus in full operation, the thermal value of the as leaving outlet 42 maybe increasedor 15 diminished ,by changing the volume-'of enricher admitted per volume of producer gas. The sensible heat carried forward the producer gas leaving the fuel bed may be altered at will byohanging the CO, content in'such producer as,;which change, assumin constant con 'tionsl to 'obtain inthe fue bed, would be brought'about by changing. the ratio of steam to air in the blast of blower 8. It is obvious that 'the sensible heat alone in be suiiicient to vaporize certain enrichers in certain quantities and still leave sensible heat "I do n ot w-ishto restrict myself in an wa to any particular thermal value, as this wi l be determined by the requirements locally. It is obvious that even-the crude type of gas,

producers now used,- (forinstance in connection Withopen hearth furnaces 1n the manufacture ofproducer as; from'very cheap bi-k tuminou's coals),`mig t be used-in connection with thefearb'uretingl arrangement I have shown, inasmuch asthe tarry vapors n oW considered a nuisance would. becarried directly in the carburetingchamber where these same tarry vapors would be dissociated and fixed into ermanent gases in the s'aiiie way aswouldt e'other enricheradded.- It is, therefore, not essentialto the success of this process to have a producerlthatwill 5 5 make tar-free as. *Neither is it essential that enricher ot er than tarry vapors vbe add# ed, for by the admission of a very small 4quantity of air such portions of the producer gas may be burned within the carbureters as will maintain the temperatures at such a` point that the tarry vapors carried forward will be l thereby dissociated'.'andrendered fixed. The apparatus I have shown may, therefore, be applied to present styles of producers for the purpose of rendering this producer gas free of the producer gas entering chamber 12 Woulderento engines because of the'sticking up of valves, 75 Y etc.

I do' not wish to restrict myself in any way lto the use of the particular arrangement of apparatus herein described. The producer proper (chamber 8), may be of the form 80 shown, or of any other form adapted to the manufacture of what is commercially known now as producer gas from any fuel or substance suitable for that urpose. The carbureters'may be arrange as here shown, or 85 .in any other suitable way in one or more shells. The boiler may be of this, or an f other'suitable design, or may be omitted a together, in which case the sensible heat new utilized in raising steam would be lost in the cooling and scrubbing apparatus and the lsteam would have to be supplied from an outside source. The coolers or scrubbers maybe of this, or any other suitable design,- either stationary or rotary. The air may be heated as shown, or in any other part of the apparatus, or not at all. The enriching material may be applied as lshown without preheating, or any suitable contrivanee may be used in which the sensible heat` of the gas itself may be taken advantage of in preheating'the enriching material.` The cooling and scrubbing lapparatus may be omitted altogether in cases where hot gas containing v some dust and some vapors may be used to advantagedirectly, as in furnace work. It

is obvious that within practical limits the thermal value or the candle power of the gas made by this apparatus may be varied and that any 'apparatus utilizing to advantage 110 the ideas involved in the apparatus here eX- .plained' Wouldr be suitable for #the manufac- 1' ture of gas in central stations connected with distribution systems for conductingthe gas -over large territories.

' Because of the low cost of manufacture of this gas and the ease with which its thermal value may 'be ad'usted to meet local conditions, this gas will be commercially available :for such domestic requirements as cooking,

Water gas',for oil gas manufacture vas at present carried out, excepting'thefloss through radiation.' Because of its elimination of ayoidable thermal' losses and of its adaptabllity to continuous 4o eration, this apparatus will have a higher t lermal eliiciency than any process now or heretofore used in the.

manufacture of gas for city supply.

. Having noW described this invention What 1 claim--is :4

1. 'The method of manufacturing gas which consists in passing air through a fuel bed in such. quantltles as to support only partial combustion, then in enriching the vresultant -1 5 gas by introducing hydrocarbon oil into it, then in burningr enough of said gas in the presence of said hydrocarbon oil so vthat the eat resultin vfrom the combustion, together with the sensible heat of the gas, Will be suflivaporsjand" iiX said vapors into permanent gases which are mechanically'mixed With the fcient .to break up @the hydrocarbon oil int.

remainderl of thegas, thereby producing a` permanent gas of relatively. high thermal 2. The method of manufacturing gas `Which consists `in passing vair through afuel bed in such .quantities as to support only partial combustiom'thenenriching said gas by'introducingan enricher into it, then burninga portion of the gas for fixing the enricher into permanent gases and allowingthe 'products of combustion 5to-,mingle With' the enriched chamber, introducing carbonaceous'material into said chamber With, said. gas, burning a portion of said-'gas Within sald chamber so .that the heat of combustion'resultingv therefrom, together with the` sensible 'heat of the gas, willl breakupthe carbonaceous material lnto vapors; and x 'thevaporsfinto perma- 1 'nent gases Which,- together with theproductsv'of combustion, -mix-With the gas to produce a permanent gasl of relatively Ahigh vthermal' v value.- 50

' 3'. Themethod of .manufacturing gas Which` consists inl passing air through a -fuel bed in r such quantities as to support only partial combustion, passing. said gas .through a thod'lof manufacturing gas which gas, burninga portion of the gas Within said chamber so that the heat of combustion resulting'there'from Will break up the carbonaceous material into vapors and x the vapors into permanent gases which, together with the products of combustion, mix with the gas to 1produce a permanent gas of high'thermal va ue Y 5. 'lhe method of manufacturing gas which consists in lgenerating producer gas, passing said gasthrugha chamber, mtroducingan enricher into said chamber and maintaining a fixing temperature Within said chamber by admitting a1r thereto and thereby burning a portion of said -as Within said chamber.

6. The metho of manufacturing gas which 'consists in generating producer gas, passing sald gas through an enrlcher chamber, uitroducing air into said chamber for the p urpose of burning a portion of sald gas Wit n said 'chamber and thereby maintaining a fixing temperature.

7. The method of manufacturing gas Which consists in enerating a gas of relatively loW thermal va ue, then in enriching the resultant gas by introducingfcarbonaceous materi-al into it, then in burnin a portion of said gas in the presence of sai material so that 1 the heat resulting from` the combustion, .togetherWi-th the sensible heat of the generated gas, Will be sufficient to breakup the said material intovapors vand gases Which, together with the products of'l combustion, are .mixed With the gas to produce a gas of 'relatively high thermal value'.

8. The-method of manufacturing gas which thermal value, passing said gas through a fixconsists in generating agas of lrelatively low ing chamb er,j1 ntroducing an enricher into said chamber, burning-a portion ofthe gasi in i the presence of said enricher for the purpose of' maintain'ing aaproper temperature Within sald chamber to -chanicall-y mixed With the remainder of the -gas to roduce a gas of relativelyhigh thermal .v'aue.- In` testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 21stI day of' July,

1905.. `HENRY I. LEA. Witnesses:l l

' DAvrD WILLIAMs, JNO. S.r GREEN..

lssociate sa1d enricher-into vapors and permanent gases which, ytogether l v With the products of combustion, are me- 

